Ladders, front and back, repairing 120-year-old house after Snowmaggedon 2016
De'Andre, age 8 1/2, far right, at football practice, heavily padded and helmeted, though I still worry, but he loves the game
Most people in the US (and the West)
have a simplistic view of Gitmo (as they have of most issues regarding Cuba
and, frankly, anything else) as a terrible place. That’s one reason I was moved
to write my latest Cuba HP blog, also picked up by Democracia Participativa:
In addition to closing the prison, many
Americans would favor giving that territory back to Cuba. It doesn't look like
either is going to happen before the end of the Obama administration. And most
people don't know the history of how the US came to occupy G'tmo. The US,
rather than being a voracious imperialist power, actually helped Cuba win independence
from Spain and could have kept possession of the whole island, as it did with
Puerto Rico, something many Cubans actually wanted at the time and which could
perhaps have prevented the rise of the Castro dictatorship (then, Castro might
have been directly fighting the US instead of Batista). In any case, Cubans
would gladly escape now to G'tmo if they could and some have remained living there
happily for decades. For Cuban rafters, while they were dismayed at first about
being taken there, it turned out to be a good transition. Too bad rafters today
cannot go there on the same basis. I feel sorry for the Cubans stuck in
Colombia now being sent back to Cuba. But the initial hospitality or
indifference of Central and South American countries finally gave way to
hostility toward Cubans passing through when their numbers became too massive
and the flow continued unabated. The same is happening in Europe now with
migrants there. I deliberately post about Cuba on Huffington Post, as
I may have said before, because it is considered fairly liberal or progressive site
and that is the readership I want to reach and get them thinking about Cuba in
a more critical way, and not just reaching Cuban Americans who may already
agree with me.
We have certainly been suffering from oppressively hot and humid weather in DC and along the east coast, approaching 100F day after day in July, and, once, had strong, deafening thunderstorms with pounding hail almost as big as golf balls. It was scary! I had lost some hearing in my right ear from a thunderclap after almost being struck by lightning in Honduras, as readers of my first book know, so I am not fond of thunder and lightning. Unfortunately, because of bitter complaints by my neighbors on the attached side, who extended their house back and located their new master bedroom under my rooftop central A/C unit, I agreed not to turn on the A/C this summer until I licensed contractor was able to check it out while doing other repairs, always necessary in house over 100 years old. He pronounced the A/C unit completely normal, but I asked him to put padding under it anyway to see if that helps soften vibrations that the neighbors say were bothering them. They were not satisfied last year when another workman said there was nothing whatsoever wrong with my A/C unit. The recent contractor thinks there may be something metal in the walls of an addition the neighbors made that is conducting the vibrations, My daughter Stephanie, visiting from Hawaii, has stayed in the basement with its window A/C unit, but I’ve had no one else staying with me lately. Two girls who were here in the spring went home to Europe for the summer, so I just left their rooms vacant, waiting for their return.
Am giving a shout-out now to my good friend Anna, who lives in RI,
but whom I have known since my teenage years in Colombia and who visited me in
Honduras when I was in Peace Corps there. Anna, who will soon be 79, was happily
adjusting to assisted living 18 months ago when a facility vehicle ran over
her, leaving her near death and in a rehab hospital ever since. She had to have
a leg amputated recently below the knee because of chronic infection and now
has begun walking on a prosthetic leg, already able to take many consecutive
steps with a walker. She says that it feels different, of course, than walking
on a flesh-and-blood leg and foot, but she should be rightly proud that she has
survived and made it this far. She hopes to be able to leave the hospital
finally since the accident, which occurred in Dec. 2014. Talk about a survivor,
that’s Anna! She has filed a claim against the facility where she was injured,
but the court date keeps being pushed back—the other side may hope she dies
before they have to settle.
Congratulations to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, now celebrating their
platinum or 70th wedding anniversary. Few people or marriages
survive that long. And from once knowing the Carters during Jimmy’s presidency
and beyond, I would hazard a guess that theirs has been a mutually faithful and
close union. They’ve always had a strong religious faith and Jimmy is still
teaching Sunday school in Plains.
Were you following the Democratic Convention,
quite a contrast with the Republican Convention of lthe prior week, dominated
by Donald Trump and his offspring? If he should win, I feel sorry for anyone
having to work with him—maybe his kids will take key positions. Wife Melania
doesn’t seem interested in a public role and seems inclined to stay home with
her young son in NYC. In fact, Donald might decide to commute from NY to DC
himself, as he is not fond of the nation’s capital, and might prefer to mostly work
out of his NYC office. He seems uninterested in following precedent. The Democrats’
effort now is to make Hillary seem more human and trustworthy. As I've said,
when I was in smaller meetings (gun control, health) with her as First Lady,
she seemed quite responsive and personable. But when she gives a campaign speech
now, she appears more strident, perhaps because she's mostly shouting and has
bigger audience. I agree with her that she’s not a natural politician like
her husband. The trust gap may be partly due to some of her actions during her
long time in the public spotlight, but maybe also because she is a woman and we
cut women less slack. Gen. Patraeus’s breach was more egregious, but he was
slapped only with a minor charge and no jail time and seems to have suffered
little public scorn—of course, he’s teaching, not running for president, as he
might have done otherwise. For Hillary, it’s “Lock her up!” or even “Shoot
her!”
Donald Trump has now said
that he felt like punching some DNC speakers “so hard,” "No more Mr. Nice Guy," and that he’s “taking the gloves
off.” The gloves were on before?? He’s still fighting mad, nothing really new
there. Does he have any sort of positive program? Does he have any sort of
program at all? It might also be said that Clinton lucked out in having Trump
as her opponent, which actually gives her a fighting chance following 2
Democratic presidential terms. Trump’s behavior is so outlandish that it’s more
absurd than fiction. Cuban and other foreign analysts must be completely
puzzled. Is voting really the best way to choose a leader? The whole world will
heave a sigh of relief if/when Hillary wins in November. Meanwhile, since
Trump is so thin-skinned and impulsive, might he just quit the race in a fit of
pique? That would surely be unprecedented and create disarray. But it might
best for the Republican Party. Since he’s already saying the election is
rigged, maybe he’s looking for a way out. Paul Ryan’s name is being floated—he
would attract more votes than Trump and really give Hillary a run for her
money. She must be hoping that Trump remains in the race. Trump is so sensitive
to criticism that maybe it’s not as much fun for him to be the nominee as it
was before and during the convention when he was in his glory with his wife and
kids all around him. Are the kids managing his business? He could always quit
without notice and go back to his business.
Here’s a funny (if the situation weren’t so serious) parody
of a fake Trump announcement that he’s leaving the presidential race. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article94019107.html
As someone who has lost a
child, actually two, counting my foster son, I can say unequivocally that
Donald Trump has no idea of the pain that such a loss causes. Certainly his
insult to a Gold Star Muslim family does nothing whatsoever to hurt them; their
suffering renders his ignorant natterings little more than pinpricks, evidence
of his shocking lack of knowledge and empathy. That a fair number of voters
still continue to stubbornly support him remains worrisome. I imagine that
Pence, his running mate, may be having second thoughts about the commitment he
has made.
Trump and Clinton do have opposite
styles and could learn something from each other. Trump is all about
spontaneity and winging it, saying whatever comes to mind—so no one knows quite
what to expect. Ha ha! Surprise! Tricked you! Some of that unscripted quality in
a candidate is refreshing. Most people like to be amused, challenged, and feel
that they are seeing the real person. But spontaneity in a leader has to be
combined with some specific plans that can always be adjusted for
circumstances. If anything, Hillary is seen as too planful and calculating,
like waiting 8 years to try again for the presidency.
But I still feel a little excited
about the prospects of a female president. Hillary has hung onto Bill’s
coattails, but many political wives have long labored behind the scenes to
further their husband’s careers, so it’s good to see the favor being returned.
(I certainly promoted and worked unseen and tirelessly for my late ex-husband—who
was blind--for more than 20 years.) Indeed, there are political or other
dynasties built on being the spouses, siblings, or offspring of office-holders
or celebrities. Only a few very lucky or very clever people actually “make it”
from scratch all on their own. And many who work very hard never find success
in this always highly competitive world.
As
I read Kaine’s abortion stance, he
supports the law of the land in the Supreme Court decision, but not public
funding of abortions, which was not required by the Supreme Ct. decision.
It was
heartening to see DC statehood for the first time in the Democratic
Party platform. Do we have Bernie to thank for that? And now, according to Fox News, Bernie
Sanders has left the Democratic Party and gone back to being an
independent. Does that mean he isn’t going to campaign with Hillary or would refuse
a position in her administration?
The Democratic platform regarding Latin America and Cuba
mentions the travel ban and the embargo--also human rights and freedoms, but
apparently the 2 are not tied together. The travel ban is a joke--massive US
tourism is now flooding Cuba. Human rights are mentioned, but how to encourage
them is the unanswered question.
Americas The Americas are a region of singular strategic, economic, and
cultural importance and opportunity for the United States. Democrats reject
Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall on our southern border and alienate
Mexico, a valuable partner. We will instead embrace our neighbors and pursue
strong, fruitful partnerships across the region, from Canada to Latin America
and the Caribbean. We will bolster democratic institutions, promote economic
opportunity and prosperity, and tackle the rise of drugs, transnational crime,
and corruption. We will strengthen the U.S.- Caribbean regional relationship
through economic development and comprehensive immigration reform. And we will
build on our long-term commitment to Colombia and work with Central American
countries to stabilize the Northern Triangle. In Cuba, we will build on
President Obama’s historic opening and end the travel ban and embargo. We will
also stand by the Cuban people and support their ability to decide their own
future and to enjoy the same human rights and freedoms that people everywhere
deserve. In Venezuela, we will push the government to respect human rights and
respond to the will of its people. And in Haiti, we will support local and
international efforts to bolster the country’s democratic institutions and
economic development. We will also help more Haitians take advantage of
Temporary Protected Status. Finally, we will close the School of the Americas,
now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, because
we believe that military and police forces should support democracy, not
subvert it.
Meanwhile, the Koch brothers
are focusing on Republicans running for the Senate, tying Democrats to Hillary
Clinton there. A strongly partisan Republican Senate would certainly thwart
anything Hillary tried to do.
Here’s a provocative plea for
the maintenance of national borders; does that run contrary to the idea of
universal human rights or can the two co-exist?
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hanson-borders-20160731-snap-story.html
It was bound to happen. Pregnant women worried about microcephaly
when I was in Honduras last Feb. are now having babies with birth defects. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2016/07/27/8-babies-with-severe-birth-defects-linked-to-zika-virus-born-in-honduras-so-far/?hl=1&noRedirect=1
President
Obama is expanding the refugee program for Central Americans being screened in
their own country:
Obama to Allow More
Refugees to Come to U.S.
The Obama administration is expanding an
effort to allow some Central American families to come to the United States as
refugees, July 26, 2016,
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-07-26/obama-expanding-refugee-program-for-central-americans?src=usn_fb
The
DR is thought to be the main source of
Zika cases in the US:
Below is a
provocative article about something that has puzzled me for a while, including
in regard to Cuba, and would explain why so much really bad behavior by the
Castros is tolerated by the world and by intellectuals. I had thought maybe it
was the Cuban regime’s convincing PR and their supposed support of equality for
all citizens via “socialism.” The following author instead argues that such
support runs deeper, as many intellectuals identify as liberals or even
“socialists” themselves— at least, sympathetic to socialist ideals of equality.
This self-identification blinds them to horrors committed under the banner of
socialism, since if many well-known “socialists” are tyrants. Or maybe they
don’t want to believe that the heroes of socialism—such as Fidel Castro—are
really not good guys and that their
judgment of them—of him—has been wrong? Anyway, read it and see what you think
(he argues that Mao was the world’s worst mass murderer).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/08/03/giving-historys-greatest-mass-murderer-his-due/
This link says it all:
latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/07/27/venezuela-cuts-oils-shipments-to-cuba-forcing-castros-to-consider-veer-to-us/?hl=1&noRedirect=1
In
a reminder of when Cuban youth and “volunteers” were sent to the countryside to
work in agriculture and listen to evening indoctrination lessons, Venezuela is
tackling its current food shortage in a similar manner. (Cuba largely gave up
on agriculture, importing most food.)
A new decree establishing that any employee in Venezuela can
be effectively made to work in the country’s fields as a way to fight the
current food crisis is unlawful and effectively amounts to forced labor, said
Amnesty International.
“Trying to tackle Venezuela’s severe food shortages by
forcing people to work the fields is like trying to fix a broken leg with a
band aid,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty
International.
Venezuelan zoo animals dying of starvation reminds me of the special period in Cuba (perhaps returning
now, despite massive remittances and tourism from the US?) when zoo animals
could not be fed. This below is from my book:
At a beach designated for
Cubans managed by the Eastern Beaches Committee of the Cuban Communist Party
(according to its sign), Andrés whisked us past the overseers lest foreigners
be prohibited from entering, just as Cubans were barred from tourist beaches.
Though quite crowded there, we enjoyed a refreshing swim.
Walking
home later, we passed by the site of the former Moscow Restaurant, once
occupying a whole city block, but mysteriously burned to the ground after the
Soviet departure leaving only a charred ruin. Half a dozen individuals were
rummaging through nearby dumpsters.
Andrés
insisted on showing us the zoo where all the animals had been removed from
outside cages after several had been poached for food. “It’s really hard to
keep all the animals fed anyway,” he observed. “This was once a fairly decent
zoo, but, like everything else, it’s gone downhill.” The gate attendant
regarded us suspiciously, saying no foreigners were allowed inside, not even by
paying admission. Andrés loudly chewed the guy out. “You see why I want to
leave this country?” he asked in exasperation as we departed. “As party
members, they just love lording it over the rest of us.”
As
the first Cubans deported from Colombia arrived back in Cuba, the Cuban government
was blaming “wet-foot/dry-foot” for the surge (with considerable
justification). (Obama could probably change
that by executive order, as it was first declared by President Bill Clinton.) Now,
apparently more Cubans are instead contemplating the perilous sea journey,
where they may drown, but also be picked up by the US Coast Guard and returned
to Cuba, as has happened to some 6,000 already this fiscal year (including, I
presume, the hapless folks who landed on a lighthouse, which a judge decided
was not US soil).
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-cuba-blames-us-open-door-for-migrant-surge-2016-8
St. Petersburg Could
Become Home to Cuban Consulate By THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS
[That would be better than Miami, which would just become a
magnate for protests.]
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jul 30, 2016
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/st-petersburg-home-cuban-consulate-41019636
As Fidel
Castro’s 90th birthday approaches this month, he and his old-guard
followers are reportedly redoubling their resistance to any relaxation of controls.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/90-fidel-castro-symbol-cuban-resistance-change-40983536
I'm very worried now about Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas, now
on hunger strike again, a hunger strike veteran who has almost died on previous
strikes and has suffered some permanent health damage as a result—as he once
told me on a visit here about 3 years ago. If he should die, it would be a
black mark both for the Castro regime and the Obama administration, not to
mention Amnesty International.
At least 17
members of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU) on huger strike. Guillermo
Fariñas on the sixth day of his hunger and thirst strike.
#Cuba A 17 asciende el número de miembros de #UNPACU en huelga de hambre. Guillermo Fariñas en su sexto día de huelga de hambre y sed— José Daniel Ferrer (@jdanielferrer)
#Cuba A 17 asciende el número de miembros de #UNPACU en huelga de hambre. Guillermo Fariñas en su sexto día de huelga de hambre y sed— José Daniel Ferrer (@jdanielferrer)
Miami
Herald, JULY
27, 2016 Castro
mediates Colombian peace deal - but won’t talk to Cuban dissidents
Cuban
President Gen. Raul Castro has been applauded by world leaders for his
mediation in Colombia’s peace talks. But Castro refuses to talk with his own
country’s peaceful opposition
It’s
time to demand that Cuba’s dictatorship abide by the international treaties it
has signed, and allow basic freedoms.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article91937997.html#storylink=cpy
I
hardly claim to know the future. Nobody really does. We can map out plans, but
chaos theory shows that events are not always predictable. Unexpected spikes do
change the historical trajectory. This has happened in my personal life. I was
married for 24 years to a husband who was blind—I worked closely with him
during his successful career in politics and policy making. We had four
children. Little did I expect that he would divorce me and re-marry. Even more
disruptive was something that far overshadowed my divorce, namely, the sudden
death of my older son, Andrew, after an accident on his job in 1994. That was
followed the next year by the death from AIDS of my Cuban foster son Alex. All
that is chronicled in my books. So, I have come to expect the unexpected in my
own life and that holds true for national and world events as well. Who would
have predicted the rise of ISIS? The migrant crisis? The plunge in oil prices?
Donald Trump’s political ascendency? Or even the Obama/Raul Castro accords
regarding Cuba? Will the death of the Castro brothers, especially of the father
and architect of the Cuban revolution, Fidel, trigger a sea change in Cuba? It
hasn’t happened yet, just small changes around the edges, mostly seeming to
advantage the regime. A carefully controlled dictatorship with Fidel and his
hardline supporters still influential, at least so far, has only resulted in a
harsher crackdown on civil society where hopes of improvement have been dashed.
Yet according to another theory, the oscillation of historical events according
to a sort of Hegelian dialectic, excessive movement in one direction triggers a
correction back toward the opposite side. A building up of forces working
against left-leaning authoritarianism may be swinging a pendulum going too far
in that direction back again. Certainly in Venezuela, that is happening, and
perhaps throughout Latin America, and is also affecting Cuba, moving its
leadership toward more dependence on the United States. How far does the US
dare push to try to improve the lives and, yes, the freedom, of the majority of
Cuban people? That might be characterized as interference in the nation’s
internal affairs by the regime, but Cubans have many family members in the US
who are concerned about their welfare, not to mention the growing support for certain
universal human rights, as advocated by Amnesty International, the UN, and other
international bodies.
With
all the terrorist copycat lone-wolf acts taking place in Europe and with ISIS
egging them on via the internet, Trump’s ban on Muslim immigrants is going to
seem more attractive. Nor will European countries welcome Muslim immigrants. People
everywhere will be afraid to gather in crowds. ISIS may be losing the ground
war, but is winning the internet war, perhaps helped by leaks by WikiLeaks,
calculated to mess up the political landscape and help Trump get elected,
thereby to visit chaos on the US and the world. Some, without definitive proof,
are calling it Julian Assange’s revenge,
accomplished with the help of Russian hackers and maybe Edward Snowden? Holed up in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy where
they must be pretty tired of him and vice versa, he’s showing that he still has
power to inflict harm. He predicts even more damaging leaks for Hillary still
to come, an October surprise just before the election. If he had hoped for
mercy, he surely won’t get it now.
Michael Moore is predicting a Trump victory. After the WikiLeaks
leaks, plus polls showing the two candidates running even for a time, that’s no
longer out-of-the-question. Trump has
foiled predictions of his demise as a presidential candidate for some time now.
No matter how outrageous or unsubstantiated his pronouncements, many people are
still excited about him— new face, new approach, new political language, new,
new, new. Hillary Clinton is old, old, old. At the same time, you have to
wonder what’s happening to his businesses and whether he might decide to quit
before the election, especially if he is running behind. He is not accustomed
to being criticized and challenged. He has attracted a lot of free media
attention and fervent supporters with his antics, but he may not appreciate being
made fun of (it’s not fun anymore for him now)—and his kids, who might be more
rational, might convince him to quit.
Here’s
a neuroscientist ascribing Trump’s appeal
to basic and historic human instincts based on tribalism (wanting to belong), protection
of home and family, insults to fire people up, and depicting life-or-death
situations. He advises, “Whenever you feel angry, you have to ask yourself if you're
being manipulated. Let the moment pass and ask yourself if aggression or
violence is really the right way to fix a situation."
The US effort
in Cuba is a delicate one --to methodically work out agreements with the Cuba
leadership to build mutual trust, starting with the easier stuff first: travel,
increased remittances, and cultural and sports exchanges. The problem is that,
so far, there has been no carryover to Cuban civil society. Instead, citizens,
feeling more emboldened, are trying to chart a different course and are being
forcibly stopped, often brutally. Given the Cuban leadership’s necessity to
veer toward to the US for economic survival, can we negotiate with them to open
up enough to allow others, including their own citizens, into the decision
making process and thereby risk giving up their control? Could we have
negotiated with Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot?
Chamberlain apparently tried to negotiate with Hitler to no avail. But
in South Africa, de Klerk and Mandela came to agreement. In Cuba, must we wait
for the Castro brothers’ demise? (And what about a President Trump—would
negotiation be possible by and with him?) It does seem that the US has made
many concessions to the Cuban leadership and gotten very little in return—only
that President Obama was allowed to visit and make a speech televised once and
denounced by Fidel Castro. At the Communist Party Congress after Obama’s visit,
the leadership doubled-down with their controls on citizens, controls both
economic and on freedom of association and expression. Dissidents are
physically attacked, sometimes inflicting serious injuries, as well as having
their activities prevented and voices muzzled. (Those attacking are not only
security forces, but such forces in plain clothes masquerading as patriotic
citizens.) Would Hillary Clinton have another approach or would little Cuba,
given all the hotter world challenges, even merit attention?
Elliot Abrams has a scathing article in Newsweek about the American Bar Association’s Cuba tours.
[Likewise, I recently saw a
report of a tour by the American Library Association praising Cuban literacy
and libraries, but making no mention of censorship and the confiscation of
books from unauthorized and home libraries.]
People everywhere don't foresee and
measure the likely effects of their political support and voting decisions.
Many Brits are feeling the lamentable, but predictable, fallout of Brexit.
Original supporters of Hugo Chavez have turned against his chosen successor Maduro
who reported hearing a little bird talking to him in Chavez's voice. That's why
I don't count on voters' common sense to defeat Trump. We've thought/hoped that
the American public would finally wise up, but the more outrageous Trump
becomes, the more a certain segment becomes more enthralled and more fervent.
It's like how people threw caution to the winds to support Hitler, Mao, and
Fidel Castro. Only later, when disaster actually had befallen them, did they
change their minds, but then, it was too late.
People also want a simple narrative,
black and white, a shortcut without nuance or requiring any critical thinking.
Many are too wrapped up in the challenges of everyday life to think before they
vote.
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